Field
The present invention relates to furnaces and associated heat storage arrangements.
State of the Art
Current energy resource needs and predicted future energy resource deficiencies can be met, on the one hand, by development of new systems and technology, and on the other by restructuring of old devices and technology to achieve additional efficiency.
Firebox arrangements for heating surrounding stones are well known in the art; one such arrangement common to the early Norsemen has evolved to the present-day sauna. Current technology for solar heating systems has adapted similar rock filled heat storage arrangements to present-day solar heating technology. Examples of such devices are shown in patents by Thomason, U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,294, and Keyes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,786. These devices include rock-filled vessels through which a solar heated media is moved to transfer heat into the surrounding rocks for later use.
Recirculation of unburned gases is not in and of itself new. Devices that provide for such recirculation are disclosed by patents to Cochran, U.S. Pat. No. 102,777; Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 268,682; and Humphreys, U.S. Pat. No. 606,667.
There remains a need in the art for a combination and arrangement of a furnace and associated heat storage components which is energy efficient, well suited to today's needs and anticipatory of future shortages.